Mia Khalifa Says Ron DeSantis 'Should Be in Jail'

Mia Khalifa has stated that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis "should be in jail" over allegations he wears heel lifts in his boots to appear taller.

DeSantis, who is vying for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, was last week questioned by Patrick Bet-David on the PBD Podcast about claims circulating online regarding hidden high heels allegedly in his boots.

Bet-David displayed images of DeSantis from a recent appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher which have gone viral. The images highlight the governor's cowboy boots with an outline added to show where hidden high heels may have been added to enhance DeSantis' height.

DeSantis quickly denied the rumors about lifts and added that he hadn't been shown the online claims about the height boosters.

"No, no. Those are just standard, off-the-rack Lucchese boots," he said of his footwear.

Former President Donald Trump, who is the leading candidate for the GOP nomination according to national polls, has helped spread the rumors about DeSantis' footwear.

On October 9, Trump shared images on his Truth Social platform from DeSantis' appearance on Maher's program. The photos show DeSantis' cowboy boots with the caption: "Tell me he's not wearing hidden heels."

DeSantis responded to Trump's tweet during an interview on Newsmax's The Balance program on Thursday.

"I know Donald Trump and a lot of his people have been focusing on things like footwear. I'll tell ya this: if Donald Trump can summon the balls to show up to show up to the debate, I'll wear a boot on my head. This is the time for substance," said DeSantis of Trump's absence from GOP presidential debates.

Former adult film actress Khalifa weighed in on the speculation with a tongue-in-cheek post shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning.

"Rob DeSantis should be in jail," she wrote. "Not for inciting genocide, for wearing heeled boots when drag is illegal in Florida."

Newsweek has contacted representatives of DeSantis and Khalifa via email for comment.

In September, a federal appeals court blocked a Florida law seeking to ban children from drag shows, in a blow for DeSantis. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed a ruling by District Judge Gregory Presnell that the anti-drag bill was not "sufficiently narrowly tailored" to protect free speech.

The DeSantis administration is appealing Presnell's ruling, issued in June, and his preliminary injunction that prevents Florida from enacting its law. The state's lawyers had requested a partial stay of the injunction, but this was rejected by the appeals court in September.

Khalifa's "genocide" comment appeared to reference the governor's stance on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. An October 7 surprise attack by Gaza-based Islamist militant group Hamas was the deadliest Palestinian militant assault on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest and deadliest airstrikes ever on Gaza.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, mostly in the Hamas attack. Since then, more than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 150 have died in the occupied West Bank, according to figures cited by the Associated Press.

Amid DeSantis' support for Israeli military action, a video went viral last month showing a man suggesting that the governor supports the "annihilation" of Palestinians. During the heated conversation at DeSantis' campaign stop in New Hampshire, the man said that he would no longer be voting for the 2024 presidential hopeful in the Republican primary.

Lebanese-born Khalifa has been a vocal supporter of Palestinians and was caught in controversy last month when she wrote of Palestinian "freedom fighters" in an X post hours after the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Following days of criticism, Khalifa, who has long been a vocal supporter of Palestinians, sought to clarify her comment in a follow-up statement on October 9.

"I just want to make it clear that this statement in no way shape or form is [inciting] spread of violence," she said in a since-deleted post. "I specifically said freedom fighters because that's what the Palestinian citizens are... fighting for freedom every day."

Khalifa, who continues to publicly show support for Palestinians, has lost at least two business deals in the fallout, including a Playboy podcasting contract.

Meanwhile, DeSantis has sought to dismiss the chatter around his footwear, as he pointed to more pressing issues during his recent Newsmax interview.

"This is no time for foot fetishes," DeSantis said. "We've got serious problems as a country. We've got a war in the Middle East. We've got terrorists coming across our own southern border. We have an American dream that's out of reach for millions of Americans because of the Biden inflation and the high energy prices. We've got schools that are indoctrinating kids, not educating kids. We've got cities that are being overrun by crime."

Trump continued to mock DeSantis' "BootGate" drama in a statement saying it has "longer legs than Ron DeSanctimonious," and argued he had become the "butt of every single joke" in the national media.

"Will Ron keep on wearing his high heels on Wednesday night, or will he switch to something sassier like platform shoes more appropriate for a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race?" Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said.

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